


A Dollar Richer

by remi_wolf



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018), Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Crack Treated Seriously, Gen, Post-The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson), i mean. they're both greek mythology, sorta crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27323323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remi_wolf/pseuds/remi_wolf
Summary: Percy's just minding his own business, chilling down on the bottom of the ocean, when he ends up with a message of sorts. Apparently a son of Hades—a prince, even!—wants to get out of the Underworld, and is asking for a boon, though he expected Poseidon, and not his son. Despite the fact that Percy's got no idea what's happening, or why this "Zagreus" looks so weird, or that he still has no idea whyheended up with the message instead of his dad, he'll certainly try to give this prince a boon.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 272
Collections: Beguilements and Distractions, Remi's Whumptober Collection for 2020





	A Dollar Richer

Water was odd, at times. Percy knew that he had an unusual relationship with it, and salt water in particular, but he knew better than most that it could be strange and temperamental at points. Eddies and currents drifted stories and whispers of words, and even if Percy found himself perpetually exhausted by the constant requests for his attention, he couldn’t keep himself away from it for long.

After all, disappearing under the waves for a few hours was the only way to chase away the memories of Luke and Kronos and the entire Battle of Olympus. 

16 was far too young to deal with a war, especially one that no one noticed other than other half-bloods. 

But that was a matter for another day. For now, he was curled up against the sand of the Atlantic Ocean, pretending that he didn’t have responsibilities back at camp. He’d go back after another hour or so, in time for lunch, but now he could stay here, breathing in the cool water before jumping as he felt something nudge against his hand, and he glanced over to see a barracuda pressing up against him. Ridiculous, as always, and Percy was fairly sure he recognized this one, but he gave them a little bit of a scratch behind the gills before he heard an odd voice. Soft at first, though slowly growing louder by the end of it. 

“...I accept this message!”

Percy stood up in time to see a shimmering image form in front of him, not sure what this was, but apparently getting some sort of message. How Iris had gotten down here for a message, he had no idea, considering everything was bathed in a blue glow, rather than her usual rainbows.

“You’re...not who I expected.”

“What?” Percy blinked, not sure what to make of  _ any _ of this, especially considering he wasn’t the one that sent the message. How could the person in front of him not have expected him if he was the one that sent the message? Add the fact that the person standing in front of him was entirely unusual, even among half-bloods and gods. He had two differently colored eyes, and an old-fashioned robe thing as well, and then laurel leaves around his head that...almost seemed on fire. “You’re...a son of Hephaestus?” Percy wasn’t sure about it, but fire usually meant the forge god, or at least he thought so. 

The other looked visibly confused, though he relaxed slightly, his grip shifting, and Percy glanced down to see a black weapon. Or blood red. He wasn’t entirely sure. It almost reminded him of Nico’s weapon, in a way. “What? No. I’ve not even met him at all. I’m..." He paused before looking over Percy. “Who are you?”

“I’m...Percy. Perseus Jackson, of Camp Half-blood. Son of Poseidon.”

The still looked confused, though he rolled his eyes at the mention of Percy’s father. “That explains the trident, then, though it doesn’t explain the way you’re dressed, nor the reason you’re offering the boon instead of your father. I was rather looking forward to that boon, too.”

Percy tried not to get too annoyed by the tone, especially as he knew that he was just as confused as the other. “You’re dressed weird too, and I don’t know what sort of boon you could want. I don’t even know who you are.”

“Well, if you’re a son of Poseiden, then I suppose that makes us cousins. Let me introduce myself. I’m Prince Zagreus, of the Underworld. Lord Hades is my father.”

“Yeah...I don’t think so.” Percy shifted, crossing his arms over his chest and reaching up to his necklace. This was wrong. This was entirely wrong. “I only know of two children of Hades, and one of them’s dead. The other looks nothing like you.”

“Well, yes, there’s Thanatos and Hypnos, but they’re far more Nyx’s children than Hades’.” Zagreus rolled his eyes before looking around him. Percy couldn’t quite manage to see anything around Zag, oddly enough for an Iris message, but then again, he still didn’t know what was happening. “Look, I really hate to be rude, but...I do need to keep going. Need to find a way out of Hell still, and I’d really like to get out of Asphodel. Getting a bit warm, you know.”

That didn’t sound like the Asphodel that Percy knew, but he quickly decided to ask Chiron about this later. Maybe the centaur would have a better idea about what this was and who Zagreus was, but for now, he supposed he should try to figure out how to help the apparent-prince. 

“You...said it was hot there?”

“Yes, lava and flames. Really rather disgusting, but it’s the Phlegethon, what do you expect?” Zagreus laughed softly before shrugging, seemingly relaxing the longer this conversation dragged on. Percy couldn’t help but smile as well, relaxing before thinking that he could possibly try to track down a shell or something that could work. He had done weirder things recently. 

Zagreus continued talking, almost as though he couldn’t see Percy digging around in the sand. “Honestly, I rather hate it, but Elysium’s beyond it, and that’s always a nice time, at least until Theseus ends up killing me again. Or the Bull of Minos.”

“I know the Bull,” Percy murmured, a small frown on his face as he glanced up at Zagreus for a moment before looking back down at the sand. What could he give, what could he give? It didn’t even seem as though the nereids that had begun to gather could help, but at least a couple were starting to look as well.

“You know the Bull?”

Percy hummed softly as he nodded, leaning back for a moment as he looked over at Zagreus. “My version of him, at least. Killed him back when I was younger. Eleven. Got his horn as a trophy”

Zagreus blinked, staring levelly at Perseus before sighing, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Right, of course you did. Got any tips for a failure such as myself?”

“It can’t turn easily at all, so just keep jumping out of the way,” Percy said quietly before glancing over at a nereid that tapped his shoulder. With a smile, she held up a sand dollar in her hands. He grinned, taking it and nodding before turning towards Zagreus, holding it up for him to see. “There it is! Alright. So, I’ve never done this before, given someone something through a message, but...hopefully this will keep you cool, alright? Bit of water to help drown out the lava. And you said you’re going to Elysium, right?”

“That’s the hope, yes. And you said that will help?”

Percy nodded as he looked at the sand dollar and then back up at Zagreus. “It’s probably not what you’re expecting, but hopefully that helps. I was able to use it during a war, and I got the power of a couple of rivers on my side. I don’t know if it can help you, but...maybe it can.”

“I’ll take it. Anything helps at this point.” Zagreus reached out to take the sand dollar, and Percy pulled his hand back, chewing his lip for a moment. It wasn’t that Percy didn’t want to help, but he also knew that this could be his only chance at getting a message to Elysium, if it were somehow possible.

“Make me a promise, though, alright? If you see a kid, a bit older than me, in Elysium by the name of Charles Beckendorf, tell him I’m sorry, please. I got him killed. I couldn’t save him. He should be in Elysium since he helped save Olympus. I don’t remember if he stayed there, or opted for rebirth, but...if you see him, please tell him that.”

Zagreus looked at Percy, narrowing his eyes slightly before nodding. “Yeah. Yes, of course I can do that. Odd name, but if I come across him, I’ll tell him as much.”

“Good. Alright. That’s all I want.” Percy took a deep breath as he reached out, letting the trinket slip past the curtain of cool water into Zagreus’ hand, pressing it against his palm. “It’s possible to get out, by the way. I’ve done it twice at this point. Especially if you’re in Asphodel.”

“You’ve gotten out?”

Percy nodded. “At least in my world, because I don’t know if we’re in the same one, but I have.”

“That’s encouraging, at least. Even if we’re not in the same world, we’re still cousins. I hope we meet again, Perseus Jackson.”

“Right. Right, yeah. Hopefully we talk again, Prince.” Percy shifted before awkwardly bowing, trying to ignore the heat in his ears as Zagreus laughed while the image of him disappeared in a spray of bubbles.

Well. That was weird.

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly? This was just some fun crack I wanted to write because I played Hades today for, like, six hours and I really wanted to just keep playing, but alas! I needed to finish out Whumptober properly. And properly I did! Today's prompt: "Today's Special: Torture." And I used the Alternative Prompt number 12, which was Water. Torture via awkward conversations underwater.   
> look. just let me have a fun time before I start up NaNo tomorrow.   
> Anyways! I hope you enjoyed that quirky little weird fic, and thanks for reading! Comments are always welcome!


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